‘Mom And Dad’ Review: Fans Of Nicolas Cage Going Crazy Will Be Pleased
By Chris Evangelista/Jan. 18, 2018 9:00 am EST
Folks will get that, and more, when they watch Brian Taylor’s frenetic, manic horror-comedy Mom and Dad. Taylor, who was one-half of the directors who birthed the loony Crank series, brings the thudding cuts and wild edits of that aforementioned series to Mom and Dad; whether or not this is the type of film that needs such things is another question, however.
Mom and Dad has all the hallmarks of a zombie movie: there’s a mysterious disease turning people into murderous monsters. The film is borrowing from 28 Days Later and more, updating it all to a suburban setting, and throwing in the kitchen sink for good measure. One also can’t help but think of Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion’s horror-comedy Cooties, which had a similar premise, but with the ages of attackers and intended victims switched.Here, a group of bored, spoiled suburban kids find themselves in imminent danger when a mysterious event causes adults everywhere to suddenly want to brutally murder their offspring. I’d like to tell you there’s more to Mom and Dad than that, but there really isn’t. The film occasionally dabbles in surprisingly emotional moments, but what Mom and Dad really wants to do is let Nicolas Cage run wild, and that’s not such a bad thing.Typical teen Carly (Anne Winters) thinks her parents (Cage and Selma Blair) are hopelessly boring. She ignores them every chance she can get, and isn’t above swiping a couple hundred bucks from her mom’s purse. But Carly’s dull suburban life is soon upended, and fast, when dear old mom and dad start trying to kill her and her younger brother Josh (Zackary Arthur).Writer/director Taylor takes his time building up to the pivotal moment when the parents go mad. We know it’s going to happen, and Taylor delightfully teases the audience with fake-out moments here and there. All the while, we wait, on the edge of our seat; longing for that moment when Cage finally flips his lid and starts smashing shit up.
